Kenzo Tange

Tange, Kenzo (kĕnˈzō tängˈē) [key], 1913–2005, Japanese architect. A graduate of the Univ. of Tokyo, he later taught there and at several American universities. The Hiroshima Peace Center (1949), for which Tange designed three buildings, won him international fame. Influenced by Le Corbusier, Tange was a leading creator of shell structures and planned many throughout Japan. In his design for the Shizuoka convention hall, Ehima (1953–54), a hyperbolic paraboloidal system was used to span a distance of 375 ft (114 m). Tange's later works, such as the Kagawa prefectural office (1955–58), are notable for restraint of design and the employment of the traditional Japanese aesthetic in modern technical terms. His plan for the National Indoor Stadium at Yoyogi for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics is a striking example of suspension roofing. Tange's only completed project in the United States is a 1974 expansion of the arts complex in Minneapolis. His late works include the Tokyo city hall (1991), the Fuji Television Building, Tokyo (1996), and the Singapore National Library (1998). Tange was awarded the 1987 Pritzker Prize.